The importance of proper toothcare is well documented, both for dental hygiene as well as for general health reasons. Many dental health professionals recommend brushing after each meal, as well as in the morning and in the evening before retiring. Proper brushing not only benefits appearance, it may improve the health of the person's teeth and gums.
Recently, the benefits of proper flossing have also been recognized both for the proper care of a person's teeth, but also for the proper care of the person's gums. Dental care professionals often recommend flossing at least once a day.
However, due to travel, work or other such reasons, many people are away from home during and after meals and it may not be convenient to brush, let alone both brush and floss. This situation may occur during travel, if the hotel or motel does not have brushing implements, or if one is a guest in a home, at work, in a restaurant, or even if one is in a hospital for either a temporary or a prolonged stay. With the increased popularity of camping and other outdoor activities, the above-mentioned problems associated with proper dental health care are exacerbated because water and like necessities associated with toothcare may not be readily available. While it may not be convenient to have toothcare implements in such instances, it does not decrease the need for such implements.
Still further, many children eat at least one meal at school. As mentioned above, it is important to at least brush after each meal. Therefore, some brushing facilities should be made available to school children not only for health reasons, but to encourage such children to learn and practice proper tooth care habits.
Therefore, there is a need for a toothcare kit that can be used by someone who is away from home, yet will be convenient and will provide implements necessary for complete toothcare.
Still further, many toothbrushes may become unsanitary after many uses, or the bristles may even wear out thereby degrading the advantages obtained by brushing. Therefore, there is a need for a toothcare kit that can be disposed of after one use while still providing complete and necessary toothcare and without being unduly expensive so it can be used in offices, hospitals, hospices, elder care homes, schools and the like. If the cost is low enough, the kit can be given away by hotels, dentists, hospitals and schools. Alternatively, the kit can be sold from vending machines or the like in hotels, airports and the like.
Therefore, the art has included many designs for tooth care. These designs may include both toothpaste and dental floss, and means for dispensing these items. While these designs are often helpful in overcoming the above-mentioned problems, they still have several deficiencies. For example, once the toothbrush is used, the toothpaste may leak and become messy. This is a problem, but may be a severe disadvantage if the kit is to be used by a child and/or kept in a bag after use. The mess may discourage many from using the kit, and may deter parents from encouraging their children to use the kit. Still further, some of these kits do not adequately seal off the toothpaste prior to initial use so there may be some problem with proper storage of the kit prior to use. While some kits are stored in a container before use, such containers may be expensive and bulky. Still further, if the container is not properly closed, as may be the case if a child uses the kit, the toothpaste may leak out and become messy.
Therefore, there is a need for a disposable toothcare assembly that is inexpensive to use, neat, sanitary and securely closable before and after use.